Bike carrier on a Toyota Yaris

Savvy_Sue

I think I know the answer to this (go to Halfords and ask them!) but we have a high rear level bike carrier from Halfords which we bought for our previous car. Our current car is a Yaris, and I can't find the instructions either in our filing cabinet or on the Halfords website.

In one place they say there are no rear mounted cycle carriers suitable for a Yaris, and in another they give a list of cars NOT suitable for one, and the Yaris is NOT on it.

I've managed to fit it from first principles, but I don't know if it's safe or not.

Can anyone advise, or shall I wait until I can get to Halfords?

molerat

Is it the metal or fabric strap type ? Metal strap is vehicle specific so you will need the instructions and if an older one you may not have the correct strap. If the fabric strap generally it will fit as long as rear hatch is metal, there is no large spoiler and there are some hook points underneath. Best go in and ask, there are still some staff that have a lot of knowledge despite what most people on here think.

Savvy_Sue

Thanks molerat. It's fabric strap type. No spoiler. It has hooked under the lip of the boot with minimal problems. What you say about metal and fabric straps makes sense, they may well not still be selling this model! Stupidly all their pictures are with it loaded with bikes, so you can't compare!

Rear hatch is metal at the top, but the sides of the window don't have metal. However it seems plausible to me to hook below where the glass ends: it won't slip up because it won't go round the corners.

---

_______Metal__________________
----(Glass
---/________________________________
--|
-/Metal
|__________________________________

So I managed to hook the top over the metal, the sides on the bit represented by the /Metal, although it's curvier than that, and the bottom hooks under the boot lid.

I can't shift the side hooks once the boot is shut, but I also can't put them anywhere other than that, because if I do the boot's not shut properly. At least I could on one side, but not on the other, so I'm not sure my boot is hanging completely central.

Actually the other people we could consult are the Toyota dealer where we bought it: I've always found them very helpful.

Oh, I've just remembered it was sold as non-specific, put it on pretty much any car, but there were lists of what not to do in those misplaced instructions!

mikey72

Have you searched the Q&A on the Halfords web page? I checked one Halfords high level and it's stated as not suitable by the web tean I'm afraid.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_251011_langId_-1_categoryId_165477#dtab

Savvy_Sue

mikey72 wrote: »

Have you searched the Q&A on the Halfords web page? I checked one Halfords high level and it's stated as not suitable by the web tean I'm afraid.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_251011_langId_-1_categoryId_165477#dtab

Yes, I did that, BUT equally it's not listed as UNSUITABLE on another link.

And I am wondering from what molerat said whether there is no current model which would fit.

This one must be about 15 years old! Still in good nick, however, no rust on metal fittings, no wear on straps, full adjustment in all areas.

mikey72

If it's 15 years old, I doubt anyone could advise on fitting to a modern car. I havent seen many, or indeed any, that fit to an all glass back hatch. Depends on how happy you are that the side straps don't stress the glass if it touches below it, or if they are still secure fitted lower down then they should be.

Savvy_Sue

Looks like DS1 will be bringing his bike home on the train! :rotfl: Which would be simple enough if his final journey wasn't likely to see him carrying quite a lot of 'stuff'.

If it was just to move a bike from one side of the city to the other, we'd probably take the chance, but couple of hours each way on the M5 is a bit more alarming to me.